- The 36-year-old is only the second Hong Kong player to qualify for the main world circuit after Royden Lam
- Ashton had beaten seven men in UK Q School before coming up against the Hong Kong player
Hong Kong's Kevin Leung Kai-fan stood in the way of four-time women's world champion Lisa Ashton making history.
Ashton had beaten seven men in the UK Qualifying School in London and only had to beat the 36-year-old Leung " who was also trying to make history " to become part of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) main tour.
Leung, however, survived a tense battle to overcome Ashton 5-4 and become only the second Hong Kong player " after Royden Lam " to qualify for the ProTour.
"It's fabulous, I didn't think I could go this this far. It's my second time at Q School and I'm glad I made it through," Leung told PDC.
WINNER | Kai Fan Leung wins a PDC Tour Card, edging out Lisa Ashton 5-4 in their decider!#QSchool2020 pic.twitter.com/pwsQE3WOge
" PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 17, 2020
"I want to stay here, play here and see how far I can go. The Asian Tour has been going for two years and we're all fighting to get into the World Cup and World Championship and we want to live our dream.
"It's helped me a lot and helps all the players to get better. Now, all of a sudden, because of the Asian Tour people are gaining experience and getting better and showing we can do it. It's amazing."
PDC Q-School 2020 update LIVE from Wigan. #QSchool2020 https://t.co/QN8Zx9sdaz
" PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 17, 2020
The rising standards in women's darts was brought to the fore last month when Fallon Sherrock became the first woman to beat a man in the PDC world championship. She beat Ted Evetts and 11th-ranked Mensur Suljovic before losing to Chris Dobey " earning GBP25,000 for her efforts.
Top-ranked Ashton is probably a bigger name in women's darts, having dominated the scene since 2014 with four world titles. The 49-year-old can still make the ProTour via her Q School Order of Merit ranking of nine.
"It was very tough against Lisa and strange to play her, and luckily I survived in the last leg," added Leung. "I could see she was winning her games and I didn't know that I was going to play her, because I would have loved to have Lisa winning a Tour Card as well."
LATEST | Lisa Ashton defeats US ace Chris White to reach the Last 64 in the UK Q School, alongside Wes Newton, Gary Mawson, Damon Heta, Leonard Gates & Kai Fan Leung.Follow live scores through @DartConnect via https://t.co/Ve0Xd3ekKr pic.twitter.com/GjRqsx7Rj1
" PDC Darts (@OfficialPDC) January 17, 2020
Leung sealed the deciding leg with 14 darts, having also had finishes of 140 and 104. He beat
Cameron Menzies, Adam Hunt and Dave Prins before facing off with Ashton.
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